This Thursday Wilson Printing and Signs will have a 30th anniversary celebration at their business, 816 Elliot Road.

"We are just going to have some finger food and invite people to come and take a look in the back," co-owner Kathy Hafter said. "It is kind of fun when people come to the back, because they usually say, 'Wow, I didn't know this was so big.' They have no idea what is back there."

In the back of the building is a multi-room storage area with a gigantic laminator, lots of different kinds of paper, a booklet binding machine and different printers.

Although Wilson Printing is celebrating 30 years, the siblings and co-owners, Ray Wilson and Hafter, are both Paradise natives.

"Our mom had a newspaper here in town -- anybody who has been around long enough knows about it," Hafter said. "She was kind of a thorn in the side of The Post, it was called The Ridge Gazette."

Eventually when their mother died, Hafter and Wilson sold the paper to The Post and opened the business Photo Express, which did one-hour photos and the printing that Wilson Printing is known for today.

"In the mid '90s we sold the photo part of the business and changed our name, and the business has just kind of evolved (over the years)," Hafter said.

Both Hafter and Wilson explained that their favorite part of the business is the customer service aspect. They said they enjoy working with the public. One of the major challenges that Wilson Printing had to overcome was staying open for business with the economy the way it is, as well as competing for business with internet companies.

"One of the things we are fighting is the internet, because people don't realize we can match or beat the prices they get there and provide (customer) service as well," Wilson said.

Hafter added to Wilson's comment by saying that she went online to check the price of 1,000 business cards on an online site, and in the long run Wilson Printing was cheaper. She said that this was because with the internet, there are several extra prices that get added on for different services, such as shipping costs.

As a part of the celebration, Wilson Printing is having different sales on their products lasting through the end of the month. The sales include 30 percent off of banners, color copies and black and white copies. Full color business cards are also on sale, pricing 500 cards for $30 and 1,000 for $60. Business cards regularly sell 500 for $65 and 1,000 for $75.

The open house will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the Chamber of Commerce event will begin at 5:30 p.m.

*** Nicole can be reached at ngerspacher@paradisepost.com. Connect with her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nbgerspacher. Cutlines: wilson.jpg: Ray Wilson, co-owner of Wilson Printing and Signs, stands in the back storage room on Thursday morning, giving The Post a tour of the area.